Fire extinguishing device



June 4, 1935. c. H. MEIGS FIRE EXTINGUISHING DEVICE Filed April 11, 1932 67m rZec 1% Wimp so Patented June 4, 193 t i v UNITED STATES A ENTFoFFicE FIRE PEVEE' I Charles H. Meigs, New Yorlr, N. Y., as signor to Du-Gas Fire Extinguisher Corporation, New

York, N. Y'., a' corporation of Delaware ap licatio April 11; 1932, Serial no. 604.4 06 l 1 Claim. (crise -a6) a My invention relates to improvements in fire and-24"tocoi ai ir oi someother h tab 8 extinguishers oi the type which comprises a nonpreferably at or above the pressure' ot hthe atrefillable container filled with a powder which m sphere- Suitable-levels forxthek 'p wder in has fire extinguishing properties. the-various modificationslof my. .device'a r e indi- 6 Previously, such extinguishers have been made cated by the vdottedlinesl4, 15,16 These 5 by mung tube-like containers. with a powder levelsa not ti hutn e oca edze a adapted to extinguish fires. These containers 011s P 3 wi hinf o h a ne lml were provided with an opening at one end j tinguishing v powderjin bej -ar y composition through. which the powder could be thrown out adapted to th zn tpd e sui a iejcomposi n onto the fire. When-not in use, the opening was d s osed in Unitedfst t s P8 J93A20. 10 covered with a readily removable cap. This u 1v ws t e dfiDI m&teform= o! my type of extinguisher ha been n l since it "invention in which I prefer to makesmall sized was useful only when the fire was suificiently extinguishers l ,'h d fl pfl small so that the operator could approach rela-- 0f D WdBI m OI 8-1-. S 31TY' "l5. tively close, which was necessary in order to 19m? pe fi QIO mQ 8 IQ$ 8 spread the material on the exact scene of the mating in o il n elect ca p at couflagration. or any other 'place'iwhere it is possiblejto throw An object of this invention is to provide a fire theve'xtinguisher c y o t i,fi' e,* f

extinguisher which may be thrown on a fire and Figure 2 illustrates a form WhiQh 1 3 '20 thus be used efiectively whenthe operator is at larger pa ty xt n uishers for automatic use. 20

filled, leaving a sufilcient space-- -as at 2|, 22, 23 guishing the fire.

a considerable distance from the fire, or which It may contain 25 pounds of r the exact may be used as a. sprinkler to distribute the u t not being essential t yinv t r ut powder locally 01' the operator, in any event the powderneed not-ifill the con- A further object of this invention is to provide tail-191', y quiredv air or gas space b i t- :5 a fire extinguishing material in a relatively more Of t s yp f g ll he i fly be 26 cheap, non-refillable container so that an adeplaced in the top of an Oil s a koon a quate supply may be placed at various points in qu rin b th, r other pla wh r afiiedf large buildings at a minimum expense. proportions could develop in an instant du'e to A further object of this invention is to provide the presence 0f largevqllahtitles 0f g lylh 30 an extinguisher which will function automatimabl'e material. Such fires frequently" reach 30 cally in case a fire starts when no person is unmanageable proportions almost at theinstant around to operate an extinguisher. of ignition so that the use of hand extinguishers A further object of this invention is to prois not only ineffective but unsafe for :the":50pvide an extinguisher which will extinguish the erator.: However,- ai suificient number ohmy exfire with little or no damage other than that tinguishers may be placed over the inflammable 85 caused by the fire itself. Y material toprotect its entire. surface. Ifhe heat Other and further important objects of this of the fire will expand theair or gas in the space invention will become apparent from the follow- 22 above the surface of the powder, causing the ing description and appended claim. bulb to burst, scattering the powderover the' fire.

40 Several forms of my invention are illustrated 'IherheaFwill also liberate gases from the fire ex- 40 in the drawing and are hereinafter more fully tinguishing powder, which may also assist in described. creating the pressure necessary to burst he con- On the drawing: tainer 6. Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4: each represent a diiferent Figure 3 shows an extinguisher which worksin modification of my device, shown partially in a manner analogous to the one illustrated in 45 elevation and partially in section. Figure 2, but I prefer this shapeiior a, smaller The reference numerals 5, 6, I and 8 indicate extinguisher'coiitaining from 2to 10 pounds more P l forms of in p ly of glass. or lessof powder, not sufficient to fill the container, d herme y s l d at ab e Points as at leaving suitable air or gas space. I prefer this "I. H and I2. Each of these containers when size to suspend in places in or about buildings 50 intended for use as hand grenades to be thrown where fire hazards exist. When the fire starts,the on a fire is filled with a fire extinguishing powheat causes the gases within the extinguisher to der l3; but when the containers are intended expand..'and.i:burst the container, as explained ii'or use automatically, they are only partially above, scattering thepowder about and extin- Figure 4 is a modification of my invention which is provided with a portion I, which may be broken off from the body of the container by striking it against any suitable surface. The container 8 is so designed that the portion I. will break off along the line H, or as may otherwise be desired. This can be accomplished by means of a groove or scratch along the line IE, or by making the glass very thin in this portion of the container 8. Any modification of the glass at the line I9 which will favor a clean break without shattering the body of the container 8 will be operative in my invention. The purpose of the restricted portion 20, of the container 8 is to facilitate a firm hand-grip of the said container by the operator. It also assures that the tube will be held in a manner that will be best adapted to empty said container without losing powder on the back stroke. It also causes the powder to iiow from the tube at a uniform rate.

This modification of my device is designed especially for fighting small fires at close range. It is grasped by the hand and struck against any convenient surface to break off the portion I. along the scratch or groove I9, leaving an opening through which powder may be poured onto the fire. This type is especially desirable to carry in automobiles and, like the other styles described above, will explode if a fire should start when no one is around, causing the powder to be scattered about, extinguishing the fire, although when this automatic action is desired, it is preferable to have the container only partially filled with the powder, leaving suitable space for air or gas.

For some purposes, it is an advantage to have air or gas in the space above the powder in my various extinguishers somewhat above atmospheric pressure to cause the explosion of the extinguisher to take place before the fire has reached the proportions necessary to cause an explosion when the air in the container is only at atmospheric pressure.

I prefer that the container be transparent, since this feature makes the device more attractive to the purchaser, who is able to see clearly the principle involved. However, it will be understood thatscolored or opaque glasses and various other opaque material may be used. as well as numerous other transparent materials, such as celluloid, cellophane, gelatine, etc. In each case, it is only necessary that the container be sumciently weak or friable to burst under the pressure which will be developed when the air or gas within the container is heated by the fire.

It is preferable that the container be made of a fragile material such as glass, since a glass container will shatter in breaking allowing the powder to be scattered uniformly in various directions. A container'of tin, for example, would be apt to break in but one place leaving a large portion of its surface intact. This intact portion would then act as a shield to prevent the uniform scattering of the powder over the fire. By the use of a container of fairly thin glass, I am able to overcome this difficulty.

It will be understoodthat the term hermetically sealed as used in the following claim means sealing by fusion and does not include other sealing means.

I am aware that numerous details of my invention may be varied through a wide range without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I, therefore, do not desire to limit the patent granted hereon other than as necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention: a

A fire extinguisher comprising a fragile, onepiece, hermetically-sealed glass container containing powder adapted to extinguish fires, and a gas under pressure.

CHARLES H. MEIGS. 

